Tipping at the Casino | What are the “Rules”?

Figuring out who to tip at the casino and how much can be a nightmare. You don’t want to tip too much and waste money that you don’t need to, but you also don’t want to tip too little or forget to tip someone and end up being “that guy” or “that girl.” There’s a delicate balance that you have to dance to protect your wallet and protect your image. The problem with tipping is there really isn’t a written set of guidelines or “rules” that you can follow. Most people just tip according to what they’ve heard from friends or family members and only change it if they hear someone else tell them something different.

As someone who has spent about 11 years traveling the world playing poker professionally, I’ve spent a lot of time in casinos and would like to share what I’ve learned about when to tip and how much to top. While this is just going to be my opinions, it comes from a lot of experience and I really feel is pretty close to what is the right way to do it.

The first thing I need to clarify before we go any further is that there are no rules when it comes to tipping. A tip is an additional payment for services that you are in no way required to pay. Will people give you bad looks if you don’t? Probably, but the point is that you can’t be kicked out of somewhere or denied service because you refuse to tip. That being said, I don’t recommend not tipping. It’s the way that the people that service us and take care of us make a living. In a lot of places, workers work for an extremely low wage with the expectation that they will make most of their money from tips.

It can also have a big impact on the service you will receive next time you’re looking to get served somewhere. For example, let’s say you’re getting a drink at the bar where tipping is usually expected, and you don’t tip on your first drink. How quickly do you think that bartender is going to be to get your next drink? If you think it’s going to have no effect, you are living in a fantasy world. They’re definitely going to serve every tipping customer before you and then maybe still stall a bit just to spite you a bit. You may not think that is fair, but it is the way the world works, and you can choose to ignore it or embrace it and react appropriately.

I personally love tipping because I like showing my appreciation for great service. When someone does a great job of giving me what I’m looking for, I like to thank them in the best way possible – with cold hard cash. That being said, I don’t want to be over-tipping or tipping people that are already being well compensated for their work. It’s a fine line to dance that hopefully, we can get through today.

It’s important to note that all of the recommendations here do not take into account special circumstances.

For example, we talk about what you should tip a bartender on a drink. However, if you order some crazy drink that takes 45 minutes to make and requires the bartender to run all over the casino to get ingredients, you should probably tip more. If they have to do extra work due to their own fault or unpreparedness, you probably don’t need to adjust your tip. But if they go out of their way just to accommodate you, you probably should reward them for this. I would hope that you would WANT to reward them for going out of their way to make your experience a lot better.

One factor that you need to weigh is what part of the world you are in. If you’re in the United States, there are a lot more expectations to tip. If you’re in Europe, there are a lot fewer expectations to tip. Within the US, there are a few major markets where you might be expected to tip a bit higher. These would include Vegas and Atlantic City. The best advice we can give if you are traveling to a new country or location is to Google the basics of tipping there. While you probably won’t find any details specifically relating to casinos or gambling, you will be able to get a general idea as to how the country or city tips.

For the basis of this article, we are going to be referring to tipping in the United States as it usually involves more people to tip and higher amounts. It’s probably better to error on the side of tipping too often instead of under tipping.

The whole tipping story starts right when you arrive at the casino. If you want to save a few bucks, most places will let you self-park your car without the assistance of a valet. Some casinos, though, don’t offer self-parking and require everyone to valet their car (which is a bit annoying). Most people are aware that you’re supposed to tip the valets, but there is a lot of discussion about if you’re supposed to tip beforehand, afterward, or both. Personally, I just tip when I pick up my car. I don’t drive something crazy that needs special attention or anything like that.

If you drive a crazy expensive car or you’re only going to be a few minutes and want them to keep it up front so you can get out quicker, you should probably tip up front. Some people make a very good argument that you should tip at the beginning because it will affect how they treat your car. While this argument makes total sense, I tend to ignore it for who knows what reason.

I just tip when I pick up my car. As you may interface with several people, the only one that I am tipping is the person that actually drives my car up and hands me my keys. The standard tip for a valet is usually between $3-$5. As always, you can tip more or less if you want, but I’m just telling you what I’ve observed as the average.

So you’ve successfully made it through the door, and your car is parked at the casino. Let’s say you want to grab a quick drink with your friends before you get started with your gaming. You head over to the bar in the casino and order a cocktail. The bartender brings it, and we’re back at another tipping dilemma. I think it’s pretty well decided that you are supposed to tip bartenders on your drink orders. Should you tip right then if you’re having more than one drink? How much should you tip?

Glad you asked! 🙂

Personally, I like to automatically tip on the first drink no matter if I’m having one or multiple. The reason for this is that I want the bartender to know that I am a customer that is going to be tipping them. This will ensure that all of my drinks come quickly and are made well for the rest of the night. After tipping and paying for the first drink, I’ll open a tab and wait to tip on all the rest until the end of my time at the bar.

Regarding amount, there are two schools of thought that you’ll need to pick from. I’ve seen both of these from all different kinds of people, but maybe a few more people tipping on the higher end side. One group likes to tip a dollar a drink no matter where you are or no matter how expensive the drink is. The other school of thought is that you tip your standard 10-20% on your drink order.

Personally, I tip about 15% on smaller drink tabs and closer to 10% on the bigger tabs. Yes, some people might think I’m cheap, but I’m really trying to split the difference between the two schools of thought. One important thing to add here is this is just my base plan.

With most other tips on this list, the number doesn’t fluctuate. With bartenders, the amount will fluctuate A LOT. If I get amazing service, it will definitely be up at the 20% mark or potentially higher. If the service is garbage, it will definitely be around the 10% mark if not lower. Usually, I always give 10% unless the bartender is rude or does something absolutely terrible.

As we’ve gotten parked and had a drink, let’s say we decide to go play a little poker first. We sit at the table, and a chip runner comes over to ask how many chips we want. They take our money and run to the cage for us and get us chips. Now, a lot of casinos and poker rooms don’t use chip runners. Sometimes you have to go to the cage yourself and get your chips, or the person that checks you in will hand you chips. In those situations, I do not tip. When a chip runner comes to get my money and bring me chips, I will usually toss them between $3-$5 for their troubles.

As we get into our game, we start winning some pots and reach another tipping dilemma. Tipping poker dealers are one area where there are pretty clear “guidelines” as to how you should tip. I put it in quotes again as I want to reiterate that there are no fixed rules and you are free to do as you please. Typically, when I win a pot, I will tip the dealer $1. If it is a really big pot, I might toss them $5. If I just raise pre-flop and steal the blinds, I won’t tip at all. Basically, I am only tipping if the hand goes to a flop.

If the dealer deals you a high hand or some sort of jackpot, you’re definitely going to want to tip them a portion of that. Regarding the amount you should tip, it is completely up to you. I’m most likely going to be tipping 10% on smaller jackpots (under $1000), down around 5% on bigger jackpots, and then probably closer to 3% on mega jackpots. One thing to note on big jackpots is it is customary to ask the dealer if they want to be tipped right then or after they get off. I personally want the dealer that dealt me a jackpot to get all the money and not have to split it with the other dealers.  Again, this is totally up to you.

Whether you’re at the poker table, playing at a slot machine, or on the table games, there are going to be cocktail waitresses coming around serving you free drinks. While these drinks are completely free (usually), you are expected to tip the waitresses. I’ve seen a lot of people tip a ton of money to these waitresses, probably because they’re usually attractive, but I think the standard that perfectly dances the line of the right amount is $1 per drink.

Sometimes I’ll tip $2 a drink or sometimes $5 if the waitress makes a special drink for me or brings me a drink and a shot or something like that. When they go a bit above and beyond to accommodate me, I like to reward them for that.

Something I have to point out…no matter how much you tip the waitresses, they’re probably not going to fall in love with you instantly and want to come home with you. I’ve seen a bunch of guys and gals dump money to waiters and waitresses to try and woo them with no such luck. If you want to try, go for it, but there are more effective ways you can spend your money to try and get the attention of a female or male. Again, like a broken record, it’s all up to you.

If you’ve ever played slots, you know that there are slot attendants roaming the floor to help you out with getting change or payouts on big wins. As I’m not a slot player, I had to reach out to a few big players to get some information on how they like to tip when they play. Here’s what they said. If you’re getting change from a slot attendant, you’re lazy and should just go to the bill breaker machines that they have at literally every casino. If they’re all broken, and you’re required to get change from the attendant, throw them a few bucks for their troubles.

If you’re getting a payout on a big jackpot, you should be tipping the attendant. Now, the amount you tip them varied quite a bit from who I asked. Some people said they’re throwing something like 5% and some people said they’re just throwing a fixed amount like $10 or $20. Personally, if I were playing slots, I would probably do $10 or $20.

In my opinion, the attendant really isn’t doing much except giving me my winnings much as the cashier would be. Remember, this is only when the attendant is required to pay out your win. Most of your slot wins are not going to be big enough to need the attendant to pay you, so you won’t be tipping at all. If I won $1,000 that required an attendant payout, I’d probably throw them $20 for that. If I won a bunch that required them to fill out tax forms for me, I would probably tip a bit more as they were doing more work.

As you may be starting to see, I like to tip based on the amount of work the person is doing for me and how far above and beyond they go for me. It’s my understanding that this was the original idea behind tipping. It’s only as of late morphed into some automatically required payment regardless of how great or terrible your service is. Personally, I’d love to tip crappy service zero and great service much higher. I’d be spending the same amount of money, but it would be going to the people that deserve it. It would also probably drive up the level of service everywhere.

End rant.

I’m definitely tipping table game dealers but usually only when I am winning. This seems to be pretty standard across the board and the same for all games. Depending on the game I am playing, I will tip differently. If I’m playing Blackjack or similar card-like table games, I will tip after a few winning hands. Usually, something like $5 unless I’m winning a ton of money.

With Blackjack specifically, I will give the dealer the option just to take the $5 tip or let me bet it for them. If I bet it for them and they win, they get $10. It’s just something fun that dealers like at times. I won’t tip every hand I win but a bit more sporadically.

When playing craps, I’ll also tip sporadically as it feels right. Again, this is only when I’m doing well and winning. I will give the dealers the option just to take the tip or to bet it on something fun for themselves. For example, I might toss a $5 chip and say “Hard Eight for the dealers.” This means that the $5 bet is now live for the dealers and if the hard eight is hit, they will win $45. I’ve found that craps dealers absolutely love to get tips in the form of bets.

Pit bosses are the guys and gals that are running the gambling areas. Personally, I have never tipped a pit boss before in my life. However, I have heard stories of people tipping them in special situations. These situations are times when the pit boss went above and beyond to get something special for the player or help them out with an issue. In those situations, I would definitely throw the pit boss a few bucks depending on how much work they did or the value of what they helped out with.

If a pit boss tossed me a free $100 meal just because, I’m probably kicking them $20 for that. If they somehow got me a free room (not just based on my play), I might kick them more. It’s important to point out the distinction of things that are based on your play and things they are helping you out with. If you drop 10k and they give you a free room, it’s not the pit boss helping you out.

He’s most likely required to give you that. If you’re not gambling a ton though and they kick you a free room because you start to build a relationship, that is them helping you out. You should be able to figure out the difference pretty easily.

As you get ready to finish your trip to the casino, you’ve got one more tipping dilemma to get through. You may wonder when you take your winnings to the cage to cash out if you’re supposed to tip the cashier or not. This one is one more that goes both ways. I know a lot of people who have never tipped a cashier in their life. I know some that have occasionally tipped and some that tip every time.

Usually, those that tip will throw a few bucks (not a lot) to the cashier for their help. The best system I’ve seen used is the “toss the ones” system. If they get paid out $254 dollars, they tip $4. If they get paid out $81, they tip $1 dollar. If they get paid out $80, they may or may not tip $5. Personally, this is the system I like.

The bottom line is that how you tip and how much you tip is completely up to you. For some reason, other patrons at casinos love to give you their opinions on how you should tip, but I just ignore them. I have my system, and I stick to it, and that is that. The best advice is to come up with your tipping system before you go, so you know how to react in every situation.

Remember, a tip is designed to be given for exemplary service. Society is trying their hardest to make it sound mandatory no matter how bad your service is. Personally, I give into this in a few areas, but for the most part, I allow the level of service to dictate the amount and frequency that I’m going to tip.